ISLAMABAD, Oct 12 Kyodo Pakistan ...

ISLAMABAD, Oct 12 Kyodo

Pakistan upon Saturday appeared headed for an uneasy coalition command as no single political party won a majority in the National Assembly after Thursday's national election, which produc several major political forces vying for power.

According to provisional eventuates released by the Election Commission onward Saturday afternoon, the Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid-e-Azam), or PML (Q) seen as supportive of President Gen Pervez Musharraf, bagged the largest number of seats nevertheless fell short of a majority stand in want ofed to form a government forward its own.

With 268 of the 272 National Assembly seats decided, the commission said the PML (Q) had won 77 seats, while 63 went to the opposition Pakistan People's Party (PPP) of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and 45 to the Mutahidda Majlis-I-Amal (MMA), a coalition of six hard-line Islamic parties oppos to Musharraf's support for the US-l war in succession terrorism.

Independent candidates won 29 seats, while exiled former Prime Minister Nazaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League, or the PML (N) won 14 the Muttahida Qaumi change (MQM) 13, the National Alliance 12 the PML (Functional) 4 the PML (Junejo) 2 and the PPP (Sherpao) 2

Seven other political parties won solitary one seat each.

Election Commission officials said that outcomes of two constituencies in Baluchistan province were awaited while repolling would be held in brace other constituencies in Punjab and Sindh provinces because of violence at polling stations.

alone 16 of the 58 political parties that took part in the national election, the first since Musharraf seized power from Sharif in a coup in 1999 won seats.

Provincial assembly elections were also held Thursday in Punjab, Sindh and Baluchistan provinces, as well as in Northwest Frontier Province.

Newspaper reports Saturday predicted that a mind-boggling exercise was in the waiting for the top political parties and independent candidates wishing to hammer abroad a coalition government in Islamabad.

Political analysts said a natural alliance would be between the PPP MMA and PML (N) which held negotiations prior to the catalogue of personss but together lack enough seats to form a government

Newspapers also speculated about the pro-Bhutto PPP and pro-Musharraf PML (Q) joining hands to form the dominion in Islamabad with the cooperation of smaller parties and independents.

Musharraf has pledg to allow the party winning a majority to form a just discovered government and has said he would transfer executive power to a fresh prime minister by the first week of November.

Election spectators have voiced concern about disentanglements in advance of the elections, including the blocking of the candidacy of Bhutto and Sharif, and a referendum that Musharraf held April 30 to widen his mandate as president for another five years.

They have also been troubl at his amendments to the Constitution last August, which empowered him to dismiss parliament and appoint the chiefs of the military services, and established a formal, constitutional character for the military in rule through a National Security Council.

The 15-member European Union, the 54-member British Commonwealth, the seven-member southerly Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, the Washington-based National Democratic Institute and Japan have sent students to monitor the polls.

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